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Industrial and Warehouse Background Buildings
photos by Richard Schumacher, for
personal use only |
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A simple sky blue backdrop changes the whole look of your
model railroad. It makes your railroad immediately appear
more realistic and expansive. Although it's fairly easy to
paint hills and general landforms on the backdrop, buildings
are a lot harder to paint. One easy solution is to print
photographs of appropriate buildings in the right size, cut
them out along the edge of the building, and glue them to
the backdrop.
Some helpful tips include:
- If printing on your home printer, use the
"permanent" version of the printer ink so it doesn't
fade. Cheap, standard dyes will change color or fade
in as little as two or three years (usually the reds
change to orange first). Matte surface paper will make
a more realistic looking final building.
- If your send the file off for a photographic
print, you'll want to spray the front of the print
with matte surface photo-grade lacquer before handling
it much or cutting it out. The photo lacquer will
prevent damage from fingerprints and water, and the
dead matte finish will add to the realism of the print
on the backdrop. Don't use normal spray lacquers (like
Dulcote) as they will immediately ruin the print. The
matte finish lacquer you want will specifically state
it is for photographs. It is available at
better-stocked art supply or camera shops.
- An X-Acto knife with a new, sharp blade and a
steel-edged ruler make cutting out the building
easier.
- Spray adhesives allow you to quickly cover the
entire back of the print with glue. They also make
sure the glue goes to the very edges of the print
(important to keeping it from peeling away from the
backdrop), and give a thin enough coating to so it
doesn't ooze out when pressed on the painted backdrop.
Put the print face down on some color-printed ads from
your Sunday newspaper (the ink usually doesn't rub off
those ads) before you spray the back. Make sure to get
spray adhesive that says "non-acid" or for photographs
or art (so it doesn't cause the print to run or change
colors).
Click on the thumbnail image to load a larger, more
detailed, preview version. Save the HO or N scale version
(right click your mouse on the "HO Scale" or "N Scale" link
and select "Save Target As") and print it on your color
printer for your background scene. I'll add new ones here
from time to time.
Skinker Warehouse Showroom Side
Wellston (St. Louis), MO
HO scale, 11.4" wide, 300 dpi, 1.61MB
N scale,
6.2" wide, 300 dpi, 574KB |
Retail Showroom Front w/Railing
Oakville, MO
HO scale, 8.8" wide, 300 dpi, 1.25MB
N scale, 4.8" wide, 300 dpi, 429KB |
Press & Die Side
Downtown St. Louis, MO
HO scale, 14.2" wide, 250 dpi, 1.4MB
N scale, 7.6" wide, 300 dpi, 825KB |
Photos Copyright © 2010, 2011 Richard Schumacher. All commercial rights reserved.
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